This section is intended to introduce various aspects of the art, which may be associated with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. This discussion is believed to assist in providing a framework to facilitate a better understanding of particular aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that this section should be read in this light, and not necessarily as admissions of prior art.
Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to the field of animal training. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods for training a canine based upon evaluations of the dog's personality and its intelligence. The application also relates to the selection of appropriate toys and training devices based upon such evaluations.
Discussion of Technology
It is known that dogs, like people, have different levels of intelligence. For canines, intelligence is a combination of breed and training. Intelligence is determined by the ability of the dog to learn, which generally means the ability to associate sounds or motions (sometimes referred to as “somatosensory feedback or biofeedback”) with objects or actions.
The border collie (or Scotch sheep dog) is often considered to be the brightest dog. Other breeds that are considered to have higher cognitive skill levels include the golden retriever, the Labrador retriever, the Shetland sheepdog, the German shepherd, and the Doberman pinscher.
Studies into the thought processes and personality types of canines have recently been conducted by Professor Brian Hare at Duke University. Dr. Hare is the Director of the Duke Canine Cognition Center. Dr. Hare has determined that, compared to people, most dogs are considered to have the cognition of the average toddler. However, some dogs, such as border collies, are known (or at least widely believed) to have higher levels of conceptual learning.
Professor John W. Pilley of Wofford College recently authored a book about his dog Chaser. The title of the book is “Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog Who Knows a Thousand Words,” (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). See, e.g., “Meet the Dog Who Knows 1,000 Words,” (Time Magazine Online, Nov. 5, 2013, http://ideas.time.com/2013/11/05/your-dog-is-a-toddler/). Chaser is an example of a highly trained border collie.
In contrast to border collies, some breeds are considered (fairly or unfairly) to have lower cognitive skill levels. These generally include the so-called hounds including the Afghan hound, the Basset hound, the Beagle and the bloodhound. Some have also placed the bulldog, the pug, the Chow Chow, the mastiff and the Pekingese in this lower category, although there are undoubtedly exceptions within each breed and individual dog owners may rightfully have strong feelings about their individual dog or their experiences with canine pets.
Criteria for determining the intelligence of a dog generally include sense of direction, memory, ability to be trained to follow basic commands (such as “sit” or “stay”), ability to adapt to new surroundings, and ability to navigate an obstacle course. Based on this criteria, one might expect that a dog who is more intelligent is more easily trained than a dog that has lower cognitive skills.
Dr. Hare has developed an on-line assessment for a dog. His website is found at www.dognition.com, and includes the heading “Is Your Dog a Genius?” A review of Dr. Hare's website reveals that the protocol for determining a dog's developmental level results in a dog being assigned to one of the following profiles: Ace, Charmer, Socialite, Expert, Renaissance Dog, ProtoDog, Einstein, Maverick and Stargazer. For example, the Charmer is described as follows:                Charmers have exceptional social skills, meaning they can read human body language like a book. Seeing as these social skills are paired with just the right amount of independent problem solving skills, it's no surprise that Charmers can be quite mischievous! Indeed, this combination of cognitive skills sets means that many Charmers are not above using their owner's social information to get their own way. Whether cooperative or sneaky, these dogs are deeply in tune with their owner and very clever.https://www.dognition.com/profiles/charmer. (It is expected that Dr. Hare and his co-founders at Canines, Inc. have copyright protection on various aspects of the Dognition assessment protocol, including possibly the naming scheme, the software behind the website, artwork associated with the naming scheme, and the text of the website. Accordingly, Applicant seeks to use no more of this material herein than is minimally necessary to provide an appropriate patent application Background, and full attribution is given to Canines, Inc. of North Carolina.)        
It has been suggested that just as different dogs have different cognitive skill levels, or abilities to learn, different dogs also have different personality types. U.S. Patent Publ. No. 2011/01396086 entitled “Systems and Methods for Generating Personality Profiles for Animals” disclosed the idea of generating a profile of animals in order to determine compatibility. Dogs were assigned one of the following categories for different personality traits: orange, gold, blue or green. A matrix was offered at FIG. 4 of the published application, which uses a scoring system to identify personality type for a Canine. FIG. 4 of U.S. Patent Publ. No. 2011/01396086 is somewhat duplicated herein as FIG. 3.
A need exists to improve upon the manner in which dogs are trained based upon cognitive skills and personality characteristics. Further, a need exists for identifying ways in which dogs are best entertained or taught using toys that are selected based upon intelligence, personality characteristics, or a combination thereof. Regarding training devices and developmental products, a need exists for a smarter and more efficient dog training device that can provide various types and levels of stimuli to the dog, both positive and negative.